


8. Milkmaid

by InfinityIllusion



Series: On the First Day of Christmas maisumi Gave to Me... [8]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/M, Gen, MAJOR Historical Inaccuracies, The Ed/Winry is very background and could be read as platonic, Winry Rockbell-centric, phone fic, tw: non graphic discussion of illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28478169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfinityIllusion/pseuds/InfinityIllusion
Summary: Colonel Mustang’s estate is run by quite the cast of characters, including the milkmaid, Winry.
Relationships: Edward Elric & Winry Rockbell, Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell, Winry Rockbell & Trisha Elric
Series: On the First Day of Christmas maisumi Gave to Me... [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2075151
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	8. Milkmaid

**Author's Note:**

  * For [maisumi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maisumi/gifts).



> maisumi I’m coming for those bonus points on this prompt! Although my initial plan involved me not writing this on a train and doing more research for like. Picking an actual set of dates this could be set in and also when the link with cowpox as a form of semi-inoculation preceding vaccines was figured out.
> 
> Whoops.
> 
> (Time is relative?)
> 
> On the other hand I’m very pleased this is number 8 in the series.

* * *

“Winry, dear, do you mind cleaning the buckets from this morning?” Ms. Elric called from the butter room.“I didn’t quite get to rinse the ones I’ve used, and though I know you’ve got a shift in town, I’d really appreciate it if you could wash the buckets before you left.”

“Sure, Ms. Elric!Let me know how that new butter churn works!”

Ms. Elric laughs.“I will.”

Winry grins and heads out to collect the buckets.It’s been nearly 4 years since she came to work at the Mustang estate properly, and it’s far better than she expected, based on what Ed always complained about.

Of course, he doesn’t grumble too loudly, because Winry knows that Ed appreciates that the Colonel angered a number of townspeople when he kept Ms. Elric on — even promoting her from milkmaid to head of his estate’s dairy — when she became pregnant with Ed and later Al.That she’s friends with Madame Hawkeye probably had a little to do with the decision, but Winry is quite sure that, really, the Colonel is a bit of a soft touch when it comes to moms.Or women in general.

Not that any of the various of women who work for his estate would ever let on.The man has an image to uphold if he truly wants to advance among the nobility.

Ostensibly, Mr. Havoc is the manservant and Mr. Falman the butler, but anyone in the household knows that it’s really Madame Hawkeye overseeing it all.Winry has only met the lady a few times — like when she was originally hired, so they could discuss her inventions and assistance to her grandmother and days off and things like that, but she knew that when she was older Madame Hawkeye would be an integral part of her network and also that Winry definitely wanted to be at least a little like her in the future.

“Hey, Winry, Mom tell you to put down your machines?”

“Shut up Chem-head.At least I haven’t exploded anything in the past fortnight.”

Ed squawks.“It was supposed to do that!”

“If that makes you sleep better at night,” Winry replies with a shrug, slopping water on the floor with the motion.

“Did you get exiled to do something useful?”

“Says the girl washing buckets,” Ed mutters, but quickly refocuses.“Yeah, apparently we’ve got a sweep of cowpox going through the area, so I was going to check with you and Mom and see if you’d noticed anything before checking the evil milk-making creatures themselves.”

“You’re not a vet.”

Ed rolls his eyes.“I  know , tell that to the Colonel though.Apparently having studied biology for a few months means I’m qualified in his eyes.”

Winry considers this.It’s true that Ed had thrown himself into biology when his mother came down with smallpox a year ago.He’d practically ripped apart the estate’s library after decimating the one at his proper boarding school (a place he’d only gotten into because the Colonel allowed it and pulled some strings so he could enter in the first place).He’d only even gotten leave to return to the Mustang estate after he’d driven his professors to distraction with his hyper focus on biology and medicine when he’d previously been studying chemistry when Colonel Mustang had requested him to return.

Of course that was pretty transparently for the Elrics’ collective benefit, so Ed doesn’t complain nearly as much as he used to about the man.

“You’d looked into cowpox when you were on your hunt, right?”

Ed huffs, not liking to be reminded of his frantic search to ensure his mother lived.Winry is pretty sure Al had helped — had only remained behind at school to better scour the city for other texts that might not be so easily available in the countryside.

“Yeah.Some people had noticed that milkmaids tend to get a pox from the sick cows, but don’t get as bad if the pox itself hits an estate.”

“But Ms. Elric got really sick...”

“Yeah,” Ed sighs with a grimace, “I think she might’ve had some other problem on top of the smallpox — but if she’d never had the cowpox she’d probably have died.”

“Granny did spend some time talking with her early in the sickness, but I’m not sure what exactly they talked about.It could’ve been that though.”

“I’m so glad Granny was here,” Ed shakes his head.Winry can’t argue, even if she’d feared the pox would take her grandmother at the time; she was glad that someone at least was caring for Ms. Elric.

“Anyways,” Ed coughs.“Anything about the cows?”

Winry shakes her head.“I haven’t noticed anything, and your mother hasn’t said anything to me either.”

“Well, maybe we managed to stave it off this time, but, well, keep an eye out on the other farms.”

“I’ll spread it around.Although it’s not like you couldn’t do it yourself.”

Ed blushes.“No!All the ladies you talk to either think we’re courting or want me to court  their daughters!”

Oh they do, do they? Winry thinks to herself.

“Fine, I’ll spare your poor unsociable soul from the evil matchmakers.IF!”

Ed’s face quickly changes from relief to annoyance. “What, Mech-head?”

“You have to let me review your safety equipment for your next explosive experiment! AND tell me how well my new machine works.”

Ed groans.“That’ll take hours.”

“Good.It’s going to take me hours to go around town and make sure everyone knows about the cow pox and to tell you about it and make your excuses for not talking to them without making anyone angry at you.”

“Fiiiine.Where’s the new machine?”

Winry can accept her win with grace and honor.“In the butter room.”

She’d promised to make Ed’s excuses around town, but not to his mother.Besides, she still worried about him after that last explosion last week.

* * *

Kudos and comments welcome!

~Fins


End file.
